Five Dhyani Buddhas

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Cloth with painting of the Buddha

'The Dhyani Buddha Akshobhya', Tibetan thangka, late 13th century, Honolulu Academy of Arts. The background consists of multiple images of the Five Dhyani Buddhas.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Five Dhyani Buddhas (Dhyani ध्यानि Skt. for "concentration"), also known as the Five Wisdom Buddhas (五智如来, gochinyōrai^?), the Five Great Buddhas and the Five Jinas (Skt. for "conqueror" or "victor"), are representations of the five qualities of the Buddha. The term "dhyani-buddha" is first recorded in English by the British Resident in Nepal, Brian Hodgson,^[1] in the early nineteenth century, and is unattested in any surviving traditional primary sources. These five Buddhas are a common subject of Vajrayana mandalas.

The Five Wisdom Buddhas are a later development, based on the Yogācāra elaboration of concepts concerning the jñāna of Buddhas, of the Trikaya (Skt. Tri is "three", kaya is "body") theory, which posits three "bodies" of the Buddha. The Wisdom Buddhas are all aspects of the dharmakaya or "reality-body", which embodies the principle of enlightenment. Initially two Buddhas appeared which represented wisdom and compassion - they were, respectively, Akṣobhya and Amitābha. A further distinction embodied the aspects of power, or activity, and the aspect of beauty, or spiritual riches. In the Sutra of Golden Light (an early Mahayana Sutra) the figures are named Dundubishvara, and Ratnaketu, but over time their names changed to become Amoghasiddhi, and Ratnasaṃbhava. The central figure came to be called Vairocana.

It should be noted that when these Buddhas are represented in mandalas, they may not always have the same color or be related to the same directions. In particular, Akṣobhya and Vairocana may be switched. When represented in a Vairocana mandala, the Buddhas are arranged like this:

	Akṣobhya (east)
Amoghasiddhi (north)	Vairocana (principal deity/ meditator)	Ratnasaṃbhava (south)
	Amitābha (west)

Names in other languages:

Buddha	Sanskrit	Japanese	Chinese	Tibetan
Vairocana	Vairocana	大日如来, Dainichi Nyorai	毘盧如來, Pilu Rulai	Nampar nangdze, Nam nang
Akṣobhya	Akṣobhya	阿閃如来, Ashuku Nyorai	阿閃如來, Ajiu Rulai	Mitrugpa
Amitābha	Amitābha	阿弥陀如来, Amida Nyorai	彌陀如來, Mituo Rulai	Wöpakme
Ratnasaṃbhava	Ratnasaṃbhava	宝生如来, Hōshō Nyorai	寳生如來, Baosheng Rulai	Rinchen Jung ne Rin jung
Amoghasiddhi	Amoghasiddhi	不空成就如来, Fukūjōju Nyorai	成就如來, Chengjiu Rulai	Dön yö drub pa Dön drub

There is an expansive number of associations with each element of the mandala, so that the mandala becomes a cipher and mnemonic visual thinking instrument and concept map; a vehicle for understanding and decoding the whole of the Dharma. Some of the associations include:

Family	Buddha	Wisdom	Neurosis/Poison	Skandha	Action Activity	Symbol Implement	Element	Color	Season	Cardinal Direction	Mudra
Buddha	Vairochana	all accommodating	ignorance	form	Turning the Wheel of Dharma (teaching)	wheel	space	white	n/a	center	teaching the Dharma
Ratna	Ratnasambhava	equanimity equality	greed pride	feeling	enriching, increasing	jewel	earth	gold, yellow	autumn	south	giving
Padma	Amitabha	discriminating awareness	desire	perception	magnetizing, subjugating	lotus	fire	red	spring	west	meditation
Karma	Amoghasiddhi	all accomplishing	envy	mental formation, concept	pacifying	sword	air, wind	green	summer	north	fearlessness
Vajra	Aksobhya	mirror like	hatred anger	consciousness	protecting, destroying	scepter, vajra	water	blue	winter	east	earth-touching

The Five Wisdom Buddhas are protected by the Five Wisdom Kings, and in Japan are frequently depicted together in the Mandala of the Two Realms.

Each of the five Buddhas first identifies a specific human failing and then helps us in transforming it into a positive attribute, bringing about the spiritual evolution required for enlightenment.

[edit] See also

Trikaya - Garbhadhatu - Vajradhatu - Dharmadhatu - Garbha - Vajra - Dharma - Dhatu - Rupa

[edit] References

^ Bogle (1999) pp. xxxiv-xxxv

Bogle, George; Markham, Clements Robert; and Manning, Thomas (1999) Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet and of the Journey of Thomas Manning to Lhasa ISBN 812061366X
Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. ISBN 0-312-82540-4